Suddenly, Mom and Dad are cool again.
One of our favorite perks of being in this adventurous business is watching the ways people are drawn together because of the Navitat experience. This is especially true of families. Because folks must weigh at least 90 pounds to participate in our tour, most of the adventure-seekers we welcome are at least 10 years old; the bulk of youngsters are teenagers accompanied by their parents.
It’s a fun scene to watch unfold:
In walks a family, whether on vacation or locals on a day-trip adventure. The parents might be nervously stepping outside of the box with this experience, or maybe they are pro-adventurers… either way, many kids tend to have the same expression pre-tour. The expression says something like, “We’re going ziplining. Sure, it’ll be fun, but I’m not going to act too excited. After all, I’m stuck chillin’ with Mom and Dad.”
But then they meet their Canopy Guides. And get geared-up. And then they head up the mountainside in an all-terrain vehicle. “Maybe this is gonna be fun…”
By the time they’re zipping across the first few ziplines, something awesome happens… they’re smiling. Real smiles. (Yes, teenagers smiling!) Mom and Dad are laughing. Everyone’s learning something new. And it is fun. And suddenly, Mom and Dad are cool again. At least a little.
Navitat Canopy Adventures exists to to provide immersive, engaging and educational nature experiences. We get the pleasure of providing this experience in a thrilling and fun way. While crossing 10 ziplines, 2 bridges, rappelling and hiking, groups experience the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains and Southern Appalachia’s forests in an entirely new way. And for families, it’s a brand new way to get away for a few hours, reconnect, and cheer each other on. The result is truly (honestly!) life-long memories. You can’t beat that.
For more information, including how to book your Navitat adventure, click here.
Navitat Canopy Adventures CEO Ken Stamps recently sat down with the folks at BossStart.com to discuss life as a fearless leader of a new business (and entrepreneur extraordinaire!)
Check out the article to learn more about how and why Navitat came to be, and to read about the five key strengths of the Navitat brand.
BossStart.com exists to share the stories of knowledgeable professionals and build a network where anyone can learn what goes into starting and maintaining an Independent business. Thanks, BossStart.com, for featuring Navitat!
The Navitat team is full of interesting people from a wide variety of backgrounds. Once you get to know us, we’re sure you’ll agree that we’ve gathered the highest quality, highest energy folks around—and together, we’re creating a high-flying, educational, amazingly fun adventure experience that is second to none!
This week, meet Dylan Burt, a proud partner in the business who leads as Navitat’s General Manager.
Name/Nicknames: Dylan Burt, Dylan, The Dylan, and “Sir” (Just kidding about that last one…)
I stay busy with: Generally managing. Ha! But really, I spend a lot of time and energy making sure that every aspect of our operation is flawless… not to say that I always achieve that, but that’s my goal. Everything from documentation to training, to the philosophy behind the way we treat our employees, to the way that we move a carabiner from point A to point B. That’s my job.
I also spend a lot of time simply thinking about and taking suggestions on how we can improve our business and create the best guest experience possible.
I love my job because: I really like working with the people on our team, and I love being outdoors. I love the idea that we are sharing something with other people and helping to educate others.
I think that what makes Navitat different is: Everything! We put more energy into finding places that people will truly love than anybody else that I’m aware of. We also put more energy into creating a true experience than anybody else I’m aware of. We work with the greatest builder in the industry, and they put so much energy into creating canopy tours that are, bar none, the greatest canopy tours in the world. We also put a lot of energy into finding the most experienced people in the industry and creating an employment situation that benefits them, benefits our company, and ultimately benefits our guests.
My favorite experience while working in this industry would have to be: Getting to know amazingly creative people who genuinely care about developing educational opportunities and fun experiences all while focusing on sustainable living. And, getting to work with my wife everyday… that’s pretty fun, too.
Calling all nature lovers, adrenaline junkies and night owls! We’re finally ready to share some big news, and if you fit into any (or all) of the previous categories, you’re going to be thrilled.
Starting this Spring, Navitat will be running nighttime canopy adventure tours! That’s right–the same soaring zip lines, sky-high platforms and canopy views you’ve experienced in the bright light of day will be open for a different kind of fun. Starting at dusk on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, evening tours are certainly not for the faint of heart! By the end of the tour, you’ll be careening around the sky in almost total darkness, making what’s normally a heart-pounding experience even more exhilarating.
Action-fans aren’t the only ones who will find something to love about our new night tours, though. We’ll still be offering lots of interesting information and showcasing the flora and fauna that make Moody Cove so unique. You’ll just have the chance to see it all in a very different light than ever before. With artfully illuminated trees and the shine of millions of stars in the sky, you’ll have the opportunity to experience Navitat as only bats, possums and raccoons have so far!
Night tours are intended for guests who have already completed a daytime canopy adventure at Navitat, and will be offered in smaller groups beginning in April. Tours go on sale February 15. For more information about Navitat at Night, click here.
And the mascot finally has a name! We recently announced the winner of Navitat’s mascot naming contest, and the honor went to Donna S. Cishek of Arden, N.C. Over 500 people entered, but Donna’s name was too cute to resist. So, without further ado, please welcome our mascot, Chester A. Corn!
For her winning suggestion, Donna will receive a canopy adventure for four and said she plans to make it a family affair by bringing along her daughter, her sister and her niece.
“We’re so excited that our name won,” said Donna. “I’ve bungee-jumped before, but never done zip-lining. It looks like so much fun. And we just love the outdoors.”
We’re expecting Knoxville visitors any day now… Navitat garnered a write-up in the Knoxville News Sentinel’s Travel Briefs at the end of May. Only a two-hour drive east, Navitat’s canopy tour would be a great activity for those looking to escape Knoxville for a weekend.
Read the Travel Brief here:
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2010/may/30/travel-briefs/
We’ve had a busy few weeks at Navitat!
The real fun finally began a few weekends ago when we hosted our “Friends and Family Sneak Preview Days.” We welcomed over 200 members of our community, family, friends, and members of the media to be some of the very first to experience Navitat. It was a blast! Since then, we’ve had two very busy weeks and even sold out this past sunny Sunday.
We’re proud to say that our anticipating and planning has paid off; everyone from the 10-year-old kids to an 83-year-old Chamber of Commerce volunteer have had a fantastic time and returned with rave reviews. It’s so much fun talking to guests just after they’ve come out of the trees. Smiles all around!!!
The total length of cable run throughout the whole property is just over 5700 feet, which translates into 10 individual zip lines spanning from 120 to over 1100 feet. During the adventure, participants are up to 200 feet above the ground and get a truly unique look at the forest and the Blue Ridge Mountains from our 16 tree platforms.
The entire tour lasts approximately three and a half hours, and is truly an awesome adventure. Beginning with a ride on a rough terrain vehicle to the safety orientation and instructional period until the final hike along Moody Creek to wind back down to the Welcome Center, the tour offers both the opportunity for serene self-reflection and adrenaline-pumping exhilaration.
During the design process, we always had participant comfort in mind, knowing that some visitors will need time to ramp up for the more adventurous aspects of the course. To that end, guests can expect shorter, closer to the ground zip lines that offer a chance to ease into the experience before the faster, longer ones come along. Throughout the second set of zip lines, our guests are amazed by the long-range views that some hadn’t expected to see. Flying above the valley cove is truly breathtaking.
Visitors also conquer two rappelling experiences, soak in the views from two sky bridges, and keep their heart rates up with three short walks between adventure areas. We’ve situated a water station in the center of the course where guests can take a quick breather.
Our canopy tour is an incredibly memorable experience that gives guests a chance to connect with nature on a level many people find hard to reach. Come NAVIgate our habiTAT in a new and exciting way; we can’t wait to share the thrills (and the views) with you! For tour information, follow this link!
Asheville Citizen-Times reporter, John Boyle, brought his family to Navitat last week and survived to the tell the story! Here is what he had to say:
The ziplining Boyle family handled the course with some serious whooping and no major misadventures. From left, Aidan, Grace, Jack and John Boyle. (Special to the Citizen-Times)
John Boyle: Navitat ziplining
was exhilarating, crazy fun
John Boyle • May 13, 2010
I knew if I just kept eating, one day I’d find my sport.
And let me tell you, packing a few extra pounds onthe old zipline really gets the blubber flying.
At the goading of my former boss, Lydia Carrington,who’s now handling some publicity for Navitat Canopy Tours in Barnardsville, the family and I signed up for a Sunday tour. None of us — the wife, Grace, or our two boys, Jack, 12, and Aidan, 10 — had ever done this, but we couldn’t be outdone by that ubiquitous harness-wearing squirrel on all the billboards around town.
So here’s the skinny: In a word, ziplining is magnificent. In three words, it’s a little scary.
I say that partly because zipping through the treetops and soaring over 200-foot drop-offs at 25-30 mph is incredibly fun, partly because I almost went code brown on several zips and found myself emitting a high-pitched girlyman scream.
For the rest of the Asheville Citizen-Times story.
For a video from John Boyle’s Asheville Zipline Adventure.
